The Advanced Class
by emilyrose55
Summary: "A mysterious poisoning. A kidnapping. A confusing prophecy yet to be fulfilled by-" "Catherine stop being so melodramatic. Hello everyone I'm Star and I along with Catherine and Annora," "Help I can't drive this thing!" "have to resuce our other two friends from some bad guy and find out what or who is causing the camp poisoning. Now excuse me while I help Ann with the Sun Chariot
1. Chapter 1

**hello this a new story that two of my friends helped me write, so if you see a difference in writing style that's why. thanks for reading and hope you enjoy it. **

Chapter 1: Annora's POV

My name is Annora LeClair. I am 14 years old and I am a demigod. So are all my friends. We are going to tell you how our lives have changed since we found out we are demigods.

I was sitting in World History with my friends when the phone rang. I was sitting with my friends Star, Raine, Ushio, Catherine, and Damien. We were all talking about the school concert we had been at the night before when our teacher told the six of us to go down to the office. "But we haven't broken any of the school's various protocols." Catherine said as we walked through the hall. "I know. This is insanity." I complained. "Hey." Damien said. "Be careful talking about insanity Nore. You might end up talking about yourself." "Shut up!" I quietly yell at him. "I am not actually insane. People just think I am because I say weird things." "You really should stop doing that." Ushio said. "Whatever." I said starting to get mad. "I am the way I am, and that's that." "Whoo! You go Annora." Raine said punching her arm in the air. That was Raine. She is all about being yourself and not hiding who you really are. Well, she kind of is. It's a little subtle, that attitude is. But it's there.

Then Ushio stopped in her tracks. The rest of us walked back to where she was. "Guys," she said, "I've gotta tell you something." "Ok." Star said. "What is it?" "You know, like, the Percy Jackson books?" Ushio asked. "Yeah." We all replied. "They're awesome." Catherine and I said. "Well I'm…I'm, like, a…demigod." Ushio said. "What?" We all asked kind of shocked. "Yeah that was my reaction when I found out." she said. "Wow." I said. It was kind of hard to believe. I mean, Ushio was one of my best friends and I didn't even realize she was a demigod. "So," I said, "Who's your godly parent?" "I'm a daughter of Poseidon." Ushio told us. "I have, like, powers and stuff too." "Like what?" Damien asked. "I can breathe underwater and control waves and stuff." she answered. We all said things like neat and cool. "Yeah." she said, "It's only with salt water though. So that kind of sucks. But you know, I just thought I should tell you guys." "Well we support you, Ushio." I said. "You can count on us." "Um guys," Catherine said," we should continue before we get punished." "Definitely," we agreed. Then we continued on our way to the office.

When we got there, there was a man waiting for us. He looked about 30-ish. He had curly salt and pepper hair and bluish eyes. He was talking on a cellphone that had two snakes slithering around the antenna. When he saw us he quickly hung up and smiled at us. His smile was a little bit impish and I got the feeling that he was making up a scheme. "Hello," he said "you all must come with me immediately. There are urgent matters that must be attended to." "Wait, wait, wait" Damien said, "why the hell would we go with you? We don't even know who you are." "Must you always swear?" I asked him. I sighed. It was ridiculous. "He has a point though." Catherine pointed out. "We don't know who you are, or how you know us."

The man sighed. "Details, details." he said rolling his eyes. He regarded each of us and called us by our full names. Then he said, "You are all demigods. You didn't know because most of you haven't been claimed." He gave Ushio a look of interest. "Your father claimed you early." "As to who I am—well, you'll find out soon enough. But we're wasting valuable time here. We must leave immediately if you want dinner."

"I'm not going anywhere with you until I know who you are." I said. "I mean, you're probably not mortal. You don't look it. I mean, you have a weird glow about you."

"Well. Someone's perceptive." he said. "I noticed as well." Catherine said. "It seemed rather odd. However, I did not wish to point it out and have all of you believed me to be insane."

"I guess I will have to expose my identity, won't I?" The man sighed. "I am Hermes, Greek god of travelers and thieves, messenger of the gods." I was a little shocked. I had kind of expected the man to turn into a monster or something. But then again, monsters don't have that glow about them that the man had. It was kind of a gold-ish color.

Damien looked at Hermes skeptically. "I don't buy it." "My god, Damien." Raine said a little bit annoyed. "Damien. Stop being so negative about everything." Star said. "He can't," I teased, "it's impossible for him." Damien punched my arm. "I'm not always negative. Shut up." "Enough!" Hermes commanded. "Chiron asked me to help you get to Camp Half-Blood. So I'm here as a favor to him. I didn't come here to waste my valuable time arguing with a bunch of high school freshmen. I'm sorry if I sound mean, but I am a very busy god."

I looked down at my shoes. I hadn't been trying to waste his time. None of us had.

"Okay." Star said. "So where do we start?" "I am going to drop you off in southern New York near the bridge to Long Island." Hermes said calming down a little. For an all-powerful being, he seemed more stressed then he should be. Your suitcases at your homes are packed and have been sent to camp ahead of time." I'm not sure how I felt about that. It's weird thinking about someone else packing my suitcase.

"That seems a little messed up." Ushio whispered in my ear. I nodded and stifled a laugh.

"So," Hermes said, "are we all ready?"

"I suppose so." Catherine said.

"Yes." Star said.

"Yup." Ushio said smiling.

"Sure." Raine agreed.

"Can we just leave now?" Damien asked.

"I guess I'm ready." I said a little bit unsure.

"Alright." Said Hermes, that impish grin back on his face. "Then we're outta here!" And with that, magic spread around us and we were teleported away.

**one more thing: please review and tell me what you think. thanks :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**so here's the second chapter. if you pay attention to how the characters act you may be able to figure out their parents. tell me who you think they are in a review.**

Chapter 2-Annora

We ended up in a forest clearing. I could hear cars though, so I knew that we were near a road. "Alright," Hermes said, "so just follow the road across the bridge and onto the dirt path on the right. Keep traveling along that path. There will be a gate that reads Camp Half-Blood. Go through the gate and up the hill until you reach the Big House. You got that?"

"Yup." Catherine said. We all agreed. If Catherine hears it, she generally remembers it. It happens when she reads too. She remembers almost everything, so we figured we were good.

"Alright then." Hermes said. "I will see you all later then…probably." With that he gave his impish smile and disappeared with a sharp noise that sounded like the sound barrier being fractured and broken.

"What did he mean 'probably'?" Raine asked.

"I do not know." I exclaimed with a huge grin. It was a joke we had. I often exclaim this or say it loudly and it always makes someone laugh so I feel like I should do it. This time no one laughed and I realized that since we're demigods, some of us might not make it to Camp. _Please let us all make alive_, I pleaded silently. I didn't care which one of the gods answered my plea or if God answered my plea, but hoped that one of them would. "Anyway," I said, "if we _do_ run into monsters, how are we going to defend ourselves?"

"I guess we'll have to improvise." Star said taking twigs off of a rather large tree branch. "I'm gonna try to use this as a staff." "Ooh," Catherine said a little interested, that is a magnificent idea, Star" "Yeah if we're fighting something small." Ushio said "Some monsters are really big and you'll need something a little stronger than a modified tree branch." She rummaged in her book bag for a little while. Then she pulled out her drumsticks and whispered some keyword. Her drumsticks elongated and sharpened until she held a gleaming bronze katana in each hand.

"That is awesome." I said amazed. It was pretty cool. I'd had no idea that my fellow drummer's drumsticks were actually Japanese swords.

"It is awesome." Ushio said digging through her bag again. This time she pulled out two daggers. "I keep these with me just in case," she explained. She handed one to Damien and the other to Star. "You guys can use these. They're celestial bronze. As for the staff, I think Raine would be better suited to use it because it has a longer range."

Star handed the make-shift staff to Raine. "Sorry guys," Ushio said a little worried, "but I don't have any more weapons." "That's okay." I said. "Oh, hey look a blue jay." Automatically the bird came and sat on my shoulder. "I guess I should be more careful of what I say." The bird whistled at me. "Will you please go away?" The bird did I said and flew off. "Did I rhyme the whole time?" I asked.

"Yeah." Star replied, slicing the air with her dagger. "I hate it when I do that." I said. "Annora," Ushio said, "please don't rhyme like that." "It's not like I want to rhyme like that." I explained. "It just happens sometimes."

Catherine had a look on her face like she was really interested in this. She was about to say something when in the distance took flight like they had been startled. A few animals ran past us, including a couple of mice.

"Oh!" I gasped. "Look at the little mice. They're so cute." One of the mice scampered back over to me and tugged my shoelace as if it wanted us to follow.

"It looks like it wants us to follow it." Catherine said

"I think I know why." Raine whimpered. We all turned around. A huge beast was lumbering towards us. It had weird fur and looked rather cat-like. Its tail, however, was very strange. It was composed of long barbs like a lionfish's. I guessed they were poisonous. I'd seen something like this creature before. It was in a book I had read. "Manticore!" I yelled.

"Run for it!" Ushio screamed.

**dundundun! hmm... i wonder what's gonna happen. please r&r. thanks.**


	3. Chapter 3

**ok, so, ****_extremely_**** short chapter. the next one's longer though. i mentioned i was writing this with two of my friends right? well today's one of their birthdays. she's the one writing from Annora's point of view. if you review happy birthday for her she'll be really happy. thanks.**

Chapter 3-Annora

We'd just made it to the bridge when the creature pounced on us. "Ha, ha, ha. Puny demigods," the Manticore growled, "looks like I'll be having a good lunch after all."

"Ushio do something." I yelled. "I can't!" she yelled back. "This isn't salt water. We must be over the Hudson River."

"Then slash it with your swords!" Damien yelled as he stabbed the monster with his dagger. But the monster wasn't even phased by it. The Manticore whipped its tail at Damien.


	4. Chapter 4

yea! first chapter wrote by me. i hope you like.

Chapter 4-Star

As the monster's tail was about to hit Damien it suddenly recoiled. Ushio had gotten in a hit. The monster was now bleeding from a wound that was higher on its tail. "You'll regret that." The monster growled.

Time seemed to slow down as the creature's tail swung back around and hit Ushio in the stomach. The force of the blow pitched her over the edge of the bridge and into the river. The roaring in my ears didn't seem to come from the river anymore. Annora was screaming over and over. Catherine and Damien were looking over the side trying to see any sign of our little friend.

We all momentarily forgot the small fact a monster was trying to kill us. I only remembered when it went to pounce on Catherine and Damien. I tried to cry out a warning and almost lunged between my friends and the monster. I'm glad I didn't do the last part because just as I was about to leap at the monster it caught on fire. Flaming monstermallow midair. No joke. Then as I watched a sword came down over the monster and it exploded into gold dust. Standing where the monster had been were two boys about sixteen years old. The one on the left looked Hispanic and his hands were still on fire, the one on the right held a gold sword and had hair the same color. They seemed vaguely familiar.

"Are you all right?" the one with the sword asked. I got the word 'grace' in my head when I looked at him. I must have been in shock because I wasn't able to form a reply. Instead Catherine called the boys over, "Can you please help us? Our friend went over the side and we can't see can't her." I had an awful gut feeling that even if we found Ushio she wasn't going to be alive.

uh oh. poor Ushio. :'( I hope she's alright


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok so 5 chapters have been posted and I just now noticed I never did a disclaimer.**

**Disclaimer: my friends and I are not rick roidan and do not own the percy Jackson series. If we did leo would probably have a girlfriend. **

Chapter 5-Star

The two mystery guys who had saved us from the Manticore introduced themselves as Leo Valdez and Jason Grace (ha I knew it!). We introduced ourselves and Leo and Jason went with Catherine and Damien to search the river for our little friend Ushio.

I volunteered to sit with Annora on the bank and try to calm her down. She didn't seem content with just sitting on the beach. I know I wasn't, but Annie really needed to calm down. She looked like she was going to cry. Her eyes were watering and her face was turning red, but she kept insisting she was fine.

"I need to do something." Annora said, her voice quivering. "You need to calm down," I said, "she fell into the water and you can't swim. I don't like getting wet so we're staying here until they find Ushio."

"But—"Annora started. "Enough Annie, your "but" stays on the beach." I said. I hated to sound mean, but there wasn't anything she could do. I gave her a hug. "Ushio will be ok. We'll find her and she'll tell us it was just a prank." I said. I didn't believe that. I kept getting the feeling Ushio wasn't ok. I just wanted Annie to feel better and calm down.

"Star," Annora said quietly.

"Yeah?"

"I had a nightmare that was exactly like this." She said. I hugged her tighter. "I just hope it turns out better than my dream." Annie said.

When they brought our little friend to shore, I could tell something was wrong. Catherine's eyes were watering and Damien had his fists shoved in his pockets, his face covered by his long reddish-brown hair. Ushio's head was drooping as Jason and Leo carried her onto the beach. They laid her down and I shuddered. My gut feeling was right, Ushio was dead.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6-Annora

"We're sorry about Ushio, guys." Jason said with a sad look on his face.

I look at Ushio. Her clothes were soaked and her hair was sopping wet. Her normally tanned Asian skin was pale. Her dark eyes were open, but they lacked the normal playful shine they normally had.

Raine, who had been leaning against one of the trees the whole time, walked over to us. Her eyes were red like she had been crying and when she saw Ushio, the sadness returned to her face.

Star and I walked over to Ushio. Well, I started to walk over, but stopped and started crying and had to walk away to calm down. It was hard to believe that I'd never see my manga-loving friend again. When I turned around again, Leo was closing Ushio's eyes and Star was wiping tears from her own.

"What do we do now?" Catherine asked.

"We're going to take you all to camp." Jason said softly. "We'll take your friend's body with us and give her a camp send-off."

I only heard this conversation from a distance. I was zoned-out, deep in my own mind. My nightmare had been right. I could've told them about my dream at school. I could've saved Ushio. I should've seen the signs.

Star shook me from my trance. "Annie," she said, "snap out of it."

"I'm sorry," I said, "so, so sorry." I could feel my eyes start to water. My hair started to fall in front of my face and I let it. Having my hair in front of my face is how my friends know I'm upset. (normally I hate having my hair in my face)

"Nore," Damien said, "we have to get moving. If we don't, another monster could find us."

"He's correct, Annora." Catherine agreed.

"Okay." I said in a small voice.

So we started walking. Leo and Jason led the way. They were followed by us in this order: Catherine (asking them about camped and quests), Raine and Damien (arguing about bands and music genres), and Star and me. I wanted to look forward to camp, but I couldn't stop thinking about how accurate my nightmare had been.

"You're thinking about your dream, aren't you?" Star asked me.

"Yeah." I replied.

"What about dreams?" Raine asked. She must have overheard the conversation.

"Nothing." I automatically responded.

"But Annie—" Star started.

"Nothing." I repeated.

"Nore," Damien said, "tell us." He had to say something didn't he?

"Fine." I said. "I had a nightmare that… that all of this was going to happen. I didn't think that meant anything. My nightmares don't normally come true."

"I think she's blaming herself for Ushio's death." Star said.

"Oh Lord!" Raine said. "It's not your fault Annora."

"That's ridiculous." Damien said. "It's not like you knew that your nightmare would become real."

"But I should've said something." I insisted.

"Annie, it probably wouldn't have changed anything," Star said, "stop blaming yourself. It's not good for you."

"Guys!" Catherine said. "We're at the gate to Camp Half-Blood."


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I've taken so long to update. I'm a very bad procrastinator. **

Chapter 7-Annora  
It was so exciting being at the gate. I hadn't realized before how nervous and excited I was. I mean I was going to Camp Half-Blood! I could tell that Star and Catherine were just as excited as I was. While at the gate, I seemed to forget about everything else. Then I realized, if I'm a demigod, then one of my parents is actually my step-parent. Wow, I thought, that's weird. "Uh, guys," Leo said, "we still have to go inside."  
From top of Half-Blood Hill, we could see the entire camp laid out below us. It was just amazing as I imagined; the lush green grass, the beautiful trees, the Big House, the cabins; everything was awesome.  
When we got to the Big House, Chiron welcomed us. "Oh dear." he said when he saw Ushio. "We'll arrange the funeral tonight. It will take place at sunset." He looked at Damien, Raine, Catherine, Star, and me.  
"You all haven't been claimed yet, have you?" he asked. We shook our heads. "Well, it's a good thing that we built a cabin specifically for undetermined campers. Come with me." He said. "I'll give you the tour and introduce you to a few demigods like yourselves."  
We walked with Chiron all around camp. It was a little hard to keep up with him considering he's a centaur. He introduced us to Annabeth Chase and Piper McLean and a few other campers. I don't remember all of them though. I'm not good with names.  
Eventually we arrived at the strawberry fields and I automatically got that song by the Beatles stuck in my head. I didn't mind though. It's a good song.  
"I'd like to introduce you to our other camp director." Chiron said. "Mr. D!" he called.  
"What?!" a voice called back.  
"Come greet our newest campers!" Chiron called.  
Oh god, I thought. I wondered if he was as Percy had described in his book. Maybe he appears differently to different people, I thought. Apparently he does because a tall thin man walked out of the fields. His longish black hair was very curly and it was so dark that it looked purple. His eyes were so blue, they were violet. He was the kind of thin that was muscular at the same time and he had a slight tan. I had always thought that Dionysus would look like that. It's probably why he did. The others saw someone different I guess because they had weird looks on their faces.  
"Hello," he said, "I am Mr. D. I am the almighty immortal second director of camp. I would like to point out that my presence here is temporary, blah, blah, blah. Can I go now?"  
"Don't you want to know their names?" Chiron asked.  
"I'm sure I'll figure out their names later." Mr. D. replied summoning a Diet Coke from thin air and taking a swig.  
"Dionysus," Chiron said a little angrily. "Don't be rude."  
"Like I care if I'm rude—"Mr. D. started.  
"I'll call you wife." Chiron threatened.  
"Fine." Mr. D. sighed. "But only because I don't want her to tell Zeus, or worse Hera." Mr. D. turned towards us. "So, who are you all?" He asked looking rather bored.  
Catherine spoke first. "I'm Catherine. This is Damien, Raine, Star, and Annora." Mr. D. regarded each of us. When he looked at me, he did a double take. "You see me differently, don't you?" Mr. D. asked. Then he looked at Catherine. "You do too." He looked vaguely interested in this. "Hmm…Maybe they can see through the Mist a little too much." He mumbled. "I thought so, too." Said a voice next to Chiron. It was Hermes.  
Somewhere in the distance, a horn blew. Hermes looked at us. "I told you that you'd make it to dinner if we didn't dilly-dally." He smiled.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Star

_'What did Mr. D. mean by Annie and Catherine seeing through the Mist too much?' _I wondered as we followed Hermes, Chiron, and Mr. D. to the pavilion. The whole camp was there and a few people turned and looked at us as we came in. "The table for undetermined campers is over there." Chiron said pointing to a table beside the head table. As my friends and I sat down, I noticed Chiron talking to a boy with sea-green eyes at another table. My eyes widen when I realized the boy was Percy Jackson, Ushio's half-brother. _'He's probably telling Percy what happened to Ushio.' _I thought bitterly.

All of us were lost in thought so much that none of us saw Leo come up until he slammed his hands down on the table. The sudden noise made Annie, Catherine, and I jump a foot in the air and made Damien fall out of his chair. The only one who didn't react was Raine who had figured out how to make soda appear in her glass and was making it change colors. "Ok my peeps," Leo said— "If he calls me that again I'll slap him." Damien murmured. — "a few facts you need to know about meals. 1) You have to give part of your food to the gods. Just throw it in the fire over there. 2) As your buddy Raine found out, you can just tell the glass what you want to drink and it'll fill itself with that. How she's making it change color, ask her. And 3) you sit here till you get claimed, and then you sit with your cabin. Ok any questions?" He looked at us and turned to go back to his table when Damien asked, "Are you always like this?" Leo gave him a crocodile grin, "Yeah so get used to it." "Oh hell." Damien moaned as Leo walked away. I suppressed a smile. Note to self: never leave Damien and Leo alone with sharp objects like swords. That could get ugly.

It was half weird, half cool that my favorite character was a real person. Mostly cool, but still. All through dinner I kept glancing at the Hephaestus table. Something about it kept pulling my gaze over. At first I thought it was Leo, but then I realized that I wasn't looking at him or anyone else, but at an empty spot at the end of the table. Near the end of dinner Leo caught me looking at the table and grinned. Oh great. Now my face started to glow red with embarrassment. Leo's grin widened and I realized that the red glow wasn't coming from my face, but from above my head. I glanced up to see the hologram of a flaming hammer over my head. Well that explained some things. Chiron looked over at me from the head table. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood Graciena Ignis, daughter of Hephaestus.

**one person claimed, four to go! please R&R**


	9. Chapter 9

**thank you to the people who have been reviewing the story. i hope you guys are enjoying it. please note that this chapter switches p.o.v. halfway through. **

Chapter 9-Star  
So I'm Leo's younger half-sister. There's nothing weird about that (please note the sarcasm). Ok so just after I got claimed, we had Ushio's funeral. Percy carried a sea-green bundle to the funeral pyre and gently placed it there. I wrapped Annie in a one-armed hug as fresh tears flooded from her eyes. With my other I took something from my pocket. It was Ushio's IPod which I'd taken from her bag. I unplugged it and searched the songs till I found the one I wanted. I looked at Annie through her hair and pressed play. 21 Guns by Green Day started to play as Damien took the torch from Percy and lit the pyre. After it was lit he stood there for a little bit watching the flames wash over our little Asian and gripping the torch so hard it nearly splintered. When he sat back down his face was red and his eyes were leaking tears. I could feel the eyes of the other campers resting on our small band of misfits. Let 'em stare. I was too upset to glare anyways.  
"In light of the somber occasion the campfire is over. Please return to your cabins." Chiron announced after the last ember died out. When everyone started walking to their cabins Leo and Percy came over to us. "So Graciena, you're part of my cabin." Leo said to me. "Yeah, but don't call me Graciena call me Star." "Why not?" he asked innocently. "Because if you call me that I'll cut off something important to you that I'll cut off something important to you." (Ok I meant his hair, but you can probably guess where his hands went.) "Why the hell are you here?" Damien asked hostilely. Raine shot him a look. "Don't be rude." "Well I'm here to take Grac—*glare* I mean Star to our cabin and—" Leo started. "Can I stay with my friends tonight?" I interjected quickly. I don't do well in new environments and in light of the situation I didn't want to leave my friends. Leo nodded knowingly. "Ok Percy here also wanted to know a bit about Ushio." My friends and I exchanged small smiles.  
"She was our Little Asian with a high dosage of aggression." (me)  
"Manga-loving artist." (Annora)  
"Liked to pick out targets to throw chairs at." (Damien)  
"Very curious." (Catherine)  
"A good friend." (Raine)  
There was a small silence after we spoke and after a half mumbled thanks, Percy left for his cabin. "I'll take you to your cabin now. All your stuff is there already." Leo said. We followed him to a cabin by Hestia's fire pit. It was made of marble and bronze, plain in design but still pretty. The inside was very homely and inviting. It also made me notice how tired I was. Sleep here I come.

As Leo led us to the undetermined cabin, I tried to push guilty thoughts out of my head. It's not your fault, I told myself, it's not your fault. We were silent as we walked. I walked next to Star and Catherine. Damien and Raine walked behind us. I looked over at Star. I couldn't believe that she had already been claimed, and that she had decided to stay with us instead of go to the Hephaestus cabin. That means that Leo was her half-brother. Ha! He's her half-blood half-brother! Anyway, I was about to mention this when Leo announced that was had arrived. The undetermined cabin was made of cream-colored marble. It was pretty plain compared to the other cabins, but then, we are undetermined. Leo led us inside.  
The cabin was very spacious and very empty. "At the moment," Leo said, "You five are the only undetermined campers. So, you'll have a lot of space and you'll have the cabin to yourselves." "It should have been six of us." I said. I should have kept my mouth shut, but sometimes things just slip. There was an awkward silence. I pushed my hair in front of my face again. Leo put his hand on my shoulder. "Listen," he said, "I'm sorry about Ushio, I really am. But—" "Sorry doesn't bring her back." I said. "It doesn't change the past, and it doesn't let me go back in time to fix things." My voice was quivering badly, but I didn't care. Then I started to feel even more guilty because this wasn't Leo's fault. "I'm sorry." I said. "I know it's not your fault. I'm so sorry."  
"It's fine," Leo said. "You guys have had a long day and lost a friend. I get it. I'll give you a tour of the cabin and get out of your way." He turned away and started showing people where their beds were. Star put her hand on my shoulder. "You okay?" she asked. "I'm fine." I said.  
"Gra— I mean Star!" Leo called. Star turned towards him, "Nice save." she said. Leo smiled a little nervously. The two of them started talking about her staying in the cabin tonight and about the Hephaestus cabin and things like that. So, I walked away and found that Raine and Damien were busy arguing again. Why do those two always have to fight over music? I thought. It sucked, I wanted to talked to them. Whatever. I looked around the cabin. It wasn't too bad, I guess. The walls were pretty plain. They were completely void of color. The beds were the same. There were two sets of bunk beds on one side of the room. There was a folding wall on the other side of them. Beyond that was a single bed I guessed was Damien's. There were two bathrooms in the cabin; one for Damien, and one for us girls. There was a trunk at the end of each bed and another one to the left of each bunk bed. There was also a great window between the bunk beds with; you guessed it, white curtains. Catherine was sitting on the lower bunk of the second bunk bed. Her Suitcase was next to her and she was rummaging through it.  
"Whatcha lookin' for?" I asked.  
"I'm looking for a book. I had hoped that there would be a book in here." She answered.  
"So is this your bunk?" I asked. "Oh, no." She said. "This is Star's temporary bunk. She's letting me sit here for the moment. I was actually assigned to the top bunk of the other set. Raine's bunk is the one above the one I'm currently seated upon."  
"Which leaves me with the bunk below yours." I finished.  
"Correct." Catherine confirmed. "You can have the trunk at the foot of the bed if you want." I said. "Alright." she said smiling. "Thank you Annora." I nodded. I took another look around the cabin. I was about to sit in my bunk, when I noticed something on the wall. A black spot with small black spindly legs sticking out. I automatically recognized the vile, disgusting creature that was my greatest fear— a spider. I stared at it. My eyes were wide. I was afraid to blink, for fear it would scuttle away and hide only to come back and scare me later. "What are you staring at?" Catherine asked. Then she saw it— the spider. "Oh my God." She said. "Guys!" I called, but they weren't listening. "Guys!" Catherine and I both yelled. Leo walked over to us. "What?" He asked. We pointed to the wall. "That's the smallest spider I've ever seen." He said. Damien walked over. "It's like the size of the head of a pin." He commented. "Who cares?!" Catherine screamed. "Just kill it before it gets away!" "Kill it with fire!" I yelled. "I think it's time I left." Leo said. "I'll see you in the morning guys." And with that he walked out the door. "Damien!" I yelled. "Kill the freaking spider!" "No," he said, "it's the smallest spider in the world. It isn't gonna hurt you. My god." "Damien!" I pleaded. "Kill it yourself." He said. "Gaaah." I whined. "Nooo." He said as he walked away. I tore my eyes away from the arachnid and looked at Raine and Star. They were laughing their heads off. "You make sure it doesn't go anywhere." I told Catherine. I grabbed a tissue from the bathroom and went back to kill the spider. Eventually I killed the spider and everything was right with the world again. After that, we all got ready for bed and the lights in the cabin went out. With the day I just had, I fell asleep almost immediately. Happily there weren't any dreams. (Or any more spiders)


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10 is here (finally). It's been awhile hasn't it. Hope you like it.**

Chapter 10-Annora

It was still dark outside when I woke up. I lay still trying not to make noise or wake everyone else. I thought about what had happened the day before. _It's so messed up_, I thought. I took I leaned over and looked out the window. The sun was coming up. I looked at the clock. It read 7:30. _Great, _I thought, _Can I never sleep in? _Whatever. I tried to fall asleep again, but I couldn't. There was a loud knock at the door. Raine and Star grumbled and rolled over in their sleep. I heard a loud thump noise from behind the sliding door, like Damien had fallen out of bed. Catherine climbed down the ladder from the top bunk. She was already dressed and her hair was tied back in a pony-tail. I sat up in my bunk. "What time did you get up?" I whispered. "6:00." She whispered back. "I wasn't sure what time to get up. So, I set the alarm for 6:00 and hoped for the best." "Oh." Was my only response. At least someone had thought ahead. As Catherine opened the door to see who was knocking, I got some of my clothes out of the truck and went into the bathroom to get dressed. Hermes did a good job of packing suitcases. I emerged from the bathroom in one of my favorite pairs of boot cut jeans and a plain black tee-shirt. I walked over to Catherine who was now trying to wake up Star.

"Who was at the door?" I asked quietly as I tied a sweatshirt around my waist. "It was Leo." Catherine answered as if that explained why he had knocked on our door. "Will you help me them up, please?" "Sure." I said. I climbed up the ladder and shook Raine awake while Catherine continued to try and wake Star. After they were awake and dressed, we tried to figure out who was going to wake Damien. "Someone just go wake him up." Raine said. "Let's play rock, paper, scissors to see who wakes him up." Star suggested. "Whoever loses, wakes up Damien." We all agreed to that. On 'shoot', Catherine threw paper and so did Raine and Star. I was the only person who threw rock. "Oh, come on!" I yelled. "This is crap!"

"Just go wake him up Annora." Raine said with a sigh. I walked over to the sliding wall and started knocking which turned into an extremely loud drum roll. "What the hell do you want?" asked a grumpy voice from the other side. "It's time to get up!" I yelled. "Meh." Was his response. A few minutes later, the sliding door opened and Damien appeared. He was dressed in black jeans, black sneakers, and a Death Metal shirt. He pulled his longish rust-colored hair out of his hair. "Any particular reason why I have to get up now?" he asked. Just as he said this, I heard a conch horn blow in the distance. The door to the cabin opened and Leo walked in. "Breakfast!" he said. Leo took hold of Star's hand and dragged her out of the cabin, the rest of the following behind. He let go of Star's hand. "So," he said, "Star, you're gonna come sit with the rest of us Hephaestus kids. Since the rest of you are undetermined, you'll be sitting with Chiron and Mr. D. at the head table. I'm sorry but those are the rules." I shrugged. I didn't care as long as I wasn't sitting on the floor. "See ya." Star said. We watched as Leo and Star jumped into their spots in the longish line of demigods that were walking down to the dining pavilion. We followed at the end of the line, Catherine in the lead. When I scarped a portion of my food into the brazier for the gods, I asked my godly parent (whoever that was) not to claim me last because I didn't want to be alone in the cabin and then asked the other gods, if they were the parents of my friends, to claim them all at the same time so that they wouldn't have to be alone in the cabin either.

We walked to the table and sat down. Raine sat nearest to the edge of the table. Catherine sat next to her on the right and Damien sat on Catherine's right. I had been the last one in line so I ended up sitting nearest the middle of the table. I wasn't happy about that. It made it more awkward for me when Dionysus sat down sat down in the chair next to me. Suddenly, I felt the need to use all of my manners so that I didn't feel like I was being rude. Dionysus chuckled. "Relax." he said. "As long as you don't intentionally insult me, you're not being rude. I am the god of partying after all." He pulled a can of Diet Coke out of thin air and took a drink. I looked back at my plate and finished my breakfast.

When I finished everyone else was still eating. I leaned back in my chair and looked around the pavilion. I spotted Star talking and laughing at the Hephaestus table. I looked over at Damien, Catherine, and Raine. They were debating something. I was bored. I started humming absent mindedly. "Please stop." Dionysus said. I sat back in my chair doing absolutely nothing. I started drumming on the table. "PLEASE STOP." Dionysus said. "Sorry" I said. I leaned back in my chair again. Dionysus went back to his conversation with Chiron. I looked over at my friends. They were still talking about that thing they had been debating earlier. I listened carefully, picking out their voices from the crowd of laughing, yelling demigods. They were trying to figure out who their godly parents were. I stopped listening. Yeah, it was cool that we were demigods and yeah, I was curious as to who my godly parent was and who they thought it would be but as long as I was undetermined, this wasn't completely real. That's the way it seems anyway. It's like how essays don't exist until the night before they're due.

"Are you bored?" Dionysus asked.

"A little." I responded. "But I'm ok with it. It gives me time to think."

He chuckled again. "Most demigods would be bored out of their minds." He said. I shrugged. I looked over to see that my friends had finished their breakfasts now as well. Dionysus walked over and stood between Catherine and Damien. "The four of you will report to the Big House after the conch." He said and then he disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. A little ways away a conch sounded and everyone filed out of the dining pavilion.

Once we got to the Big House, we weren't sure whether to go inside or stay outside. Luckily, a satyr found us and led us to the back of the wrap-around porch. There we found Dionysus and Chiron playing cards. "Ah. There you all are." Dionysus said, not looking up from his cards. The two of them laid down their cards. "Ha, ha! I win old man. That's 100 Drachma Chiron. Come on, pay up." Dionysus said happily. Chiron handed Dionysus a small bag that jingled like it was filled with those 100 Drachmas. The satyr still stood next to us. "Thank you, Helion." Dionysus said to him. "You are dismissed." The satyr bowed awkwardly and run back around to the front of the house. Dionysus looked at us as he collected all the cards. We looked back at him. "The four of you," he said, "need your schedules. Yes?" We nodded. He handed us each a piece of paper with various camp activities and times. "Have fun." He said. The four of us took that as a cue to leave and go to the first activity scheduled: sword training.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11-Annora

The four of us stood in the arena. Percy Jackson was there too. He was apparently our teacher. "Hey guys." He said smiling. "You guys know who I am. But I don't really know who you are." We introduced ourselves. He led us over to a table to the side of the arena. There were swords laid out on the table. "Pick a sword. Hold it in the hand you write with and see if it feels right in your hand. If not, find a new one." Percy told us. Damien was the first to find a sword. It was a broadsword— heavy and deadly. Catherine found hers next— a one-edged saber. Raine found one next— also a saber. I looked through the collection of swords left and found one I liked— an old-fashioned pirate cutlass. Percy taught us basic moves and Damien excelled at every one of them. I noticed that Chiron was up in the stands with some demigods. A girl walked down from the stands drawing a sword. She swung it at Damien, and just as I thought my friend would be killed, Damien turned and parried the blow. He and the girl exchanged strikes and parries. As Damien fought, he began to smile and even laugh. He seemed to glow with power. He disarmed the girl, kicked her in the chest and as hit the ground he put his sword to her throat. A glowing symbol appeared above his head. It was a blood-red image of a boar's head with swords crossed behind it. Damien had been claimed as a son of Ares. I only knew this because I loved mythology. The girl smiled as Damien looked up at the symbol. She kicked his legs out from under him and took his sword in one move. "Welcome to camp little brother." She said. Damien scowled at her. She offered him his sword and he took it as he got off the ground. "See ya at lunch." She said and then she walked out of the arena. Well, that was two of our group of five at camp that have been claimed. Three more to go, including me. "This is going to be fun." Damien said smiling. "Oh God." I said. This was trouble. I looked up I into the stands. The demigods were gone but Chiron was still there like he was waiting for something else. Raine and Catherine had continued their sword training, this time fencing each other instead of the wooden targets. Percy was showing Damien some more complex moves. I stood awkwardly, not sure what to do. I watched as Damien and Percy battled each other. Damien was getting angrier with every strike that Percy managed to get in. The ground started to crack and shake. A skeleton soldier climbed out of the ground. It ran toward Percy and tried to strike. When Percy saw it his eyes went wide. Percy was now fighting Damien and the skeleton at the same time. The skeleton defended Damien while he landed strike after strike. I ran over and joined the fight. I stabbed the skeleton soldier in the back so that the blade went through its heart and it disintegrated. I stared wide-eyed, at the pile of dust that had been the skeleton soldier. Percy had disarmed Damien. The fight was over. The cracks in the ground closed. Another small glowing symbol appeared over Damien's head. It was a lot smaller and much duller than the first one. It was black with a picture of an obsidian helm. "Welcome Damien Krig, grandson of Hades, son Ares!" Chiron announced from the stands. I didn't know that the grandson part counted. But apparently it does. I heard the announcement but my friends had to tell me about the symbol. I had still been staring at the pile of dust on the ground. I had just killed that thing (sure it was for a good cause, not having my new friend Percy killed but still…). I had killed a monster like Ushio had been killed. All your fault, I thought again trying too late to push the thoughts away. Percy put a hand on my shoulder. "Thanks." He said. "I'm pretty that you just saved my life." Then he whispered, "You didn't have much of a choice." Then he smiled and pointed us in the direction of the next place we needed to be for our next camp activity— Pegasus riding.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12-Catherine

As we headed off toward the pegasus stables, I dropped back behind the group to think. I wondered which one of our gang would be the next to get claimed after Damien. He walked now with a rather pompous air, obviously only too pleased to have been claimed. It was not surprising in the least that Damien was not only the spawn of Ares, but Hades as well. He reflected many aspects of each gods' personality: anger, willingness to fight, fascination with death and such, and anger. Damien commenced to not walk so much as strut. It made him look like a chicken.

After a short walk, we reached the stables. Many pegasi were above, wheeling like gulls in the cool breeze. Some carried riders, while others did not. I attempted to speculate if the pegasi were bound to the camp, or if they were allowed to roam freely. Did pegasi go wild if left unattended? Were there wild herds of pegasi, flying about like flocks of pigeons? I suddenly noticed that the group had gotten a considerable distance ahead of me. As I jogged to catch up, I began to hear Percy describing the stable to everyone.

"... and the wood nymphs usually help campers assigned to the stable with feeding and cleaning. Does anyone have any questions?"

Just as I was about to raise my hand, a streak of black lightening streaked down from behind us and bowled Percy over. Through our surprised shrieks, I could hear a few friendly nickers, and then even laughter!

"Hey there! It's good to see you too," said Percy as he got up and dusted himself off. "Although a less enthusiastic greeting might be a bit better." The creature let out an indignant snort and turned to face us. I could now see that it was a stallion, a beautiful black with bright eyes and a silky mane.

"Ooo...," said Raine.

"He's beautiful," said Annora.

"Magnificent," I remarked.

The pegasus seemed quite pleased by all the praise, and tossed it's head proudly.

"Everyone, this is Blackjack," said Percy while patting Blackjack's shoulder. "He's a very good friend of mine." With a tremendous whinny, Blackjack took to the air, circled us twice, then peeled off into the afternoon sky.

"He says that we should head inside, there are some mounts waiting for us," said Percy, "Is everyone ready?"

As we entered the stables, we were greeted by five eager pegasi, snorting and stamping their hooves. One was a pale gold palomino, another a paint. The third was a chestnut thoroughbred, while the fourth was a bay cob. And behind them, looming, was a brown shire with a white stripe on its forehead. It couldn't stand abreast with the others because it would have been too much for the confines of the building. The horse was positively enormous, but had an extremely kind and gentle face. We were informed that we could chose any mount that we desired. Luckily, none of us fought over which one we wanted. Star chose the thoroughbred, Rainne the paint, Annora the palomino, Damien the cob, and I the shire.

While walking through the stables to get to the launching green, I took a better look at our surroundings. Each stall was separated from the ones next to it by a partition running halfway up the wall. They ran to corinthian columns near the aisle, which ran from floor to ceiling and were made of white marble. The floor was composed of white and blue tiles, while the walls and the ceiling were white. The ceiling had innumerable skylights to let in the sun, and as I was admiring this, a crack appeared right at the crown of the roof. It grew wider and wider until I realized that the ceiling was retractable. The experience was rather like standing in a giant convertible. So far, the stables were fancier than many of the cabins I had seen from a distance.

I could hear several contented snorts come from occupied stalls as the room was bathed in sunlight. Only after a friendly nudge from my pegasus did I realize that I was dawdling. I caught up to the others as we emerged onto the launching area. Blackjack came swooping down and Percy climbed aboard. He then motioned us to do the same. As we mounted, Percy began to tell us the signals that would tell our pegasus what we wanted them to do. He then proceeded to inform us who our rides were.

"All right, so we have Raine on Lily, Damien on Charger, Star on Whirlwind, Annora on Celeste, and Catherine on Sam," listed Percy. "We're just going to be practicing a few basic drills today. We want to make sure that you won't be overwhelmed. Everyone ready? Let's fly."

Blackjack flew off almost immediately, but luckily our mounts took off at a much more reasonable speed. I looked over to find Star clinging to the neck of Whirlwind, looking fitfully at the earth below. She had never been a fan of heights, and this must have been a nightmare for her.

"Star," I yelled over the sound of beating wings, "Don't worry, we're all here for you."

She gave me a nod and seemed to relax a little. We were now about a hundred feet in the air, and the pegasi were beginning to level off. There were some very high flyers above us, as much as five hundred feet and above. I didn't mind being over, but I did want to get a better view of the camp. I tapped Sam's neck once, the signal to rise, and we began to angle upward. As Sam beat his wings to gain altitude, I noticed that our flight was practically silent. Sam must have had owl's wings. He also had the truly enormous wingspan of twenty feet, and dwarfed the others like a falcon dwarfs a sparrow.

We were now about two hundred feet up, and I could now see the ocean and all the way across the woods. I gave another tap to Sam to tell him to stop rising, and he happily complied. The view from this height was spectacular, and the breeze brought the scent of warm strawberries from far below, along with the sound of birds. With a pang, I remembered Ushio. She would have loved this. She'd always been fond of horses and probably could have talked to them, being a daughter of Poseidon. With all that had been going on, I'd barely given her a thought.

Ushio had barely been gone, and it felt as though we'd already forgotten her. A couple of tears fell off my face and hit Sam. He turned, probably wondering if it was raining, and saw me crying for no apparent reason. He let out a questioning nicker, trying to see if I was alright, and probably asking the state of my mental health. I nodded, trying to convey an air of one who is not having an emotional breakdown while flying on what they used to consider a mythical creature.

A flicker of movement from below caught my attention. I saw that a pegasus had burst from the woods nearby and was veering drunkenly towards those flying above. The closer it approached, the more I could see that there was something terribly wrong with it. Its coat was flecked with the green foam that issued from its mouth. Its eyes were bloodshot and rolling in their sockets. They had a distant quality, staring, but not seeing. The wind carried the sound of its ragged breathing and a terrible stench. The overall effect was terrifying.

By now, the pegasus had almost reached my friends and a few other campers flying in a group. They hadn't noticed it yet, and were flying normally. Sam had noticed the forbidding creature and had begun to descend on his silent wings, but I saw that we would be too late. I yelled out a warning to them.

"Guys! There's a rogue pegasus down below, it's coming right at you!"

My friends, recognizing my voice, looked and saw the looming threat. Their eyes widened as they yelled incoherently at the others they were with. The pegasi, comprehended my friends' tone of panic before their riders, who were still looking at my friends with rather bewildered expressions. The animals took matters into their own hands,( or should that be hooves?) and scattered just as the wild equine shot through the gap they had created only a moment ago. It turned in midair and began to chased the campers with reckless abandon. It was very quick as well, and pursued them at a tremendous rate. It was simply unbelievable that this creature had kept the speed it had maintained for so long.

"Catherine," someone called from behind me.

I turned to see Percy and Blackjack approaching us.

"Did you see what provoked it?" Percy asked.

"It wasn't provoked at all," I replied, "It came from the woods and started to attack them for no reason at all. I think that there is something extremely wrong with it, it doesn't look right."

"I've never seen anything like it...," Percy said softly. The pegasus had begun to snap its teeth at the wings of the other pegasi.

"Percy, I don't think that we should kill it. If there's a chance to save it to see what's making it act this way, I think we should take it."

"Okay, but how do suggest we do that?"

A bright beam of sunlight hit my eyes just then, nearly blinding me. I looked down to see the canoe lake no more than a quarter of a mile away, acting as a mirror.

"Percy, how mobile are the pegasi in water?" I inquired.

"Well, they can swim and paddle all right, but taking off is quite hard, a lot of the younger pegasi can't even fly unless they're on solid ground."

"Do you think that we could swamp this one in the lake?"

"I think that's probably our best bet."

"I talk to half, you talk to half?" I asked.

Percy nodded as Blackjack began relaying his own instructions to Sam. We wished each other luck, then went to direct the others. Sam and I flew over to my friends and the group they were with, hovering above them while describing the plan as to avoid being mauled by the sick pegasus. One of the campers, a tall boy with tousled brown hair and blue eyes, flew his Appaloosa near Whirlwind and Star, who were currently being chased. When Star dropped suddenly, the rogue automatically began to pursue the boy. Slowly, we managed to bring the wild one over to the lake along with help from Percy and his group. As we had been driving it towards the water, I'd noticed that where the foam from the beast's mouth fell onto plants, the plants would slowly wither or die. I shouted a warning to the rest of the group, telling them not to let the strange substance touch them.

We were now over the lake. Percy and I were mainly in chargecting the others and yelling out instructions. Despite the stressful situation, I didn't feel fear or anxiety, but rather power. My senses felt sharper, as did my rate of thinking. I was noticing all sorts of details that I would have normally missed, even while thinking several steps ahead of the action or commanding the others. I could see the naiads below the water's surface, ready to make it even more difficult for the pegasus to escape. Percy had informed them of the dilemma while the campers he had spoken to had flown over to the rest of the group.

Just as the strange pegasus made a wild rush at another camper, Sam and I swooped down, pinning its wings down and causing it to plummet. Sam gave it a final push as he jumped off the animals back. With a great splash, the pegasus plunged into the lake. It came up spluttering and emitting high pitched screams. The nymphs began their work then, creating a swirling torrent which dragged the pegasus under over and over again. The whirlpool looked inescapable, and evidently was, for, with a rattling gasp, the pegasus fainted, going limp and floating like a dead leaf on the water.

We managed to rig up a way to transport the pegasus, who luckily was not dead, by using a sling of vines. Luckily, the water nymphs didn't seem too worse for the wear, although it appeared as though they had developed bad headaches, and were rubbing their temples to sooth the pain. As we headed towards the Big House, Percy informed me that I would help him report to Chiron.

"What?!" I'd exclaimed.

"You'll be fine," said Percy, "Besides, you were the one who came up with the plan, you should be there and get the credit."

"I don't want to appear self-absorbed."

"Don't worry, after handling that the way you did, you can probably act any way you want. And anyway, Chiron's had to deal with people a lot worse than you, or anyone here for that matter."

"Clarisse." Said the boy riding the appaloosa with an impish grin.

"Connor, I swear if you tell her I said that, I'll make sure the kitchen harpies know who stole the ambrosia cupcakes last week."

"No! And besides, it was Travis, not me," said Connor, still grinning.

"Just don't tell Clarrisse, Annabeth wouldn't appreciate my death.

By then, we'd arrived at the Big House and landed on the front lawn. Percy and I headed inside while nearby campers came rushing up to see what had happened. As we stepped onto the open-air porch, Chiron emerged from inside. He was in his centaur form, which was rather imposing, as he was so tall he had to duck his head in order to avoid smacking it on the lintel.

"Percy, I've been looking for you... Wiat a minute, what's happened? Why are there so many campers here?" Chiron asked, his gaze flitting worriedly from Percy to the crowd on the lawn. As Percy told him what had happened, occasionally having me fill in, his eyes lost their concerned look, but he still looked very tired and weary, as if he were bearing a great weight. After the report, Chiron looked at me with curiosity and surprise.

"Did you actually come up with that strategy on your own? That's quite impressive. Exactly how long have you been at camp?" he asked.

As I was opening my mouth to reply, I saw that both Percy and Chiron's eyes were fixed on a point just above my head. I looked up to see the fading symbol of an owl and an olive tree, glowing in the shade of the porch.

"A daughter of Athena," said Percy, smiling. "I can't wait to introduce Annabeth to her new sister."

"I'm afraid that will have to wait," said Chiron solemnly. "You see, I haven't told you the reason I was looking for you. A patrol found a dead water nymph in the woods. Her spring had been poisoned."


End file.
